The present invention relates to a multiple language input system which can be applied to a document preparation apparatus using a personal computer and the like and, more particularly, to a multiple language input system capable of inputting a plurality of different languages.
This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 9-153582, filed on Jun. 11, 1997, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
In a document preparation apparatus implemented by electronic equipment such as a personal computer, a document is created by using a language input system. The language input system is software having functions required for language input processing and used together with a document preparation application (wordprocessor software).
Conventionally, such a language input system is provided for each language. For example, a Japanese input system is provided for the input of Japanese characters; an English input system, for the input of English characters; and a Chinese input system, for the input of Chinese characters. That is, a dedicated input system for each language is provided. When, therefore, a plurality of different languages are to be input, a plurality of types of language input systems must be prepared (installed in a hard disk unit) and properly switched and used every time each language is input.
Such language input systems may have functions unique to the respective languages. For example, the Japanese input system has a kana/kanji conversion function of converting kana characters into kanji characters. The English input system has a spelling check function of checking whether input words are correctly spelled. The Chinese input system has a pin yin conversion function. Pin yin conversion corresponds to Japanese kana/kanji conversion. In pin yin conversion, Chinese characters are input phonetically with the English alphabet. Such functions unique to the respective languages may be required occasionally or essentially.
Conventionally, therefore, when a plurality of different languages are to be input, a plurality of types of language input systems respectively having unique functions are required, and must be switched and used to input each language. A heavy load is therefore imposed on an unskilled user. When a document is to be created using a plurality of languages, in particular, the input systems for the respective languages must be frequently switched, resulting in difficulty in efficiently writing a document.
The above spelling check function has been implemented as a function of an English document preparation application (European Language wordprocessor). For this reason, when the application is changed (from, e.g., the European Language wordprocessor to the Japanese wordprocessor), spelling check cannot be performed even though English words can be input on the changed application in the alphanumeric shift mode.
A technique of automatically switching a plurality of language input systems prepared in a document preparation apparatus is disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 5-282360. According to this reference, however, the respective language dictionaries (the Japanese dictionary, the Korean dictionary, and the Chinese dictionary) are searched on the basis of an input character string, and the input language is determined from the search result (the number of unknown words). If, therefore, many languages are input, all the dictionaries corresponding to the number of languages must be searched. For this reason, it takes much time to execute functions unique to the respective languages such as conversion.